1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to circuit interrupters generally and, more specifically, to those kinds of circuit interrupters having a multi-component handle structure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Molded case circuit breakers and interrupters are well known in the art as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 4,503,408 issued Mar. 5, 1985, to Mrenna et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,910,760 issued Jun. 8, 1999 to Malingowski et al., each of which is assigned to the assignee of the present application and incorporated herein by reference.
Circuit interrupters usually include a handle that is movable by an operator to manually open and close the contacts of the interrupter and to reset it after a tripping operation has occurred. For this purpose, the handle protrudes through an opening in the interrupter housing. Within the housing, the handle is normally connected to a handle structure or assembly that, in turn, is connected to the other components of the operating mechanism.
In the prior art, the connection between the handle and the handle assembly is relatively complicated and thus inconvenient, and requires additional parts. In view thereof, it would be advantageous if an effective and less complicated way of connecting existed that was convenient to implement and did not require additional parts.